


Until I Feel Alright

by Of_Bunnies_and_Universal_Domination



Series: But There's Love in Your Eyes [2]
Category: Puppet Master (Movies)
Genre: Again, M/M, This ship still needs love, and it may be a bit more melancholic this time, not much happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28626960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Bunnies_and_Universal_Domination/pseuds/Of_Bunnies_and_Universal_Domination
Summary: Takes place between the first and second movies. Jester takes Blade to the ballroom.
Relationships: Blade/Jester (Puppet Master)
Series: But There's Love in Your Eyes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1516826
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	Until I Feel Alright

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was also inspired by toloveakiwi's art on tumblr. I started working on it around the same time I was writing "Hold My Little Hand" but writer's block got the best of me. I do hope to add to this series since I do have some ideas, but we'll see. 
> 
> The titles of both the fic and the series come from the song "I Can Change" by LCD Soundsystem. 
> 
> Also there are a couple small references to the Puppet Master Halloween Special comics, but you can easily ignore them if you haven't read them.

Not many tourists wanted to stay in a beach town when the weather grew colder. Even fewer tourists wanted to stay in a hotel where several people were brutally murdered so recently. It certainly didn’t encourage them to stay when the locals started whispering about evil curses and deals with the devil. As a result, the Bodega Bay Inn was silent as a grave and nearly as devoid of life as one during that particular fall season.

Jester would have found the silence unsettling if he weren’t used to it. Honestly, he preferred the hotel empty; it certainly made exploring much easier that way. He’d found many more hiding places and puppet-sized paths in the short time under his new master’s care than he ever did during Andre’s stay at the resort.

Jester’s steps slowed at the reminder of his dear friend. If Andre were still alive, Neil wouldn’t have gotten his hands on the formula. Neil wouldn’t have used them for his experiments. Neil wouldn’t have taken Shredder Kahn and Six-Shooter away. Neil –

Someone nudged Jester’s shoulder, causing him to jerk in surprise. _Who-?_ There was a flash of black fabric and his stance immediately became lax.

Oh, it was only Blade.

Jester hadn’t realized that he'd stopped walking. He must’ve been lost in his head for a bit longer than he thought. He waved off Blade’s unasked questions and continued leading the way to their destination.

He really shouldn’t have been thinking about that. Neil Gallagher’s time as the puppet master was over and it ended violently. The others made sure of that when they trapped him in that elevator. Besides, Megan wasn’t malicious like her ex-husband. She had never ordered them to harm anyone (not that that stopped them from murdering a group of teenagers that had broken into the hotel while Megan slept). Life had certainly settled down for the puppets thanks to her.

Jester finally stopped in front of a pair of elegant doors, with the one on the left cracked open by a few inches. He then gestured at Blade to follow him and quickly slipped inside. It was the ballroom, enormous with dark hardwood flooring, large windows partially covered by sheer white curtains, revealing a lovely view of the ocean. Shame it was still dusty from disuse with large cobwebs resting in corners and full of furniture draped in white dust sheets. He glanced around the room for a few seconds before running straight towards one cloth covered fixture near the windows. Jester picked up a corner of the sheet, turning his head to double-check if his companion had followed him. Blade had and waved his hook, encouraging Jester to go on. Jester nodded eagerly and then pulled the sheet off, revealing a decades old record player sitting a small table with a box of dusty records underneath it.

Jester bounced in place happily at the sight. Blade, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. Finding a record player in the ballroom wasn’t exactly impressive to him.

Jester noticed Blade’s reaction and his face spun to his sad expression. Why isn’t he excited about this? They could listen to songs from decades ago again! The only music Megan ever played was mostly from the current decade and maybe a few songs from the 70s. Jester’s face spun back to his default expression. He’ll show Blade why this record player was wonderful!

The slightly shorter puppet then rushed off to nearest chair and began pulling it over to the record player. Blade approached to offer his help, but Jester shook his head, determined to do it himself. Eventually he managed to move the chair over to the table and climbed onto it. He leaned over toward the record player, happy to see that the record he'd used earlier was still in place. Jester then turned it on and lowered the needle. As music filled the large ballroom, he allowed himself to enjoy the old melody for a few seconds before climbing back down to the floor.

Once Jester stood in front of Blade, he held out his hand toward the other puppet. It was silly, Jester knew, but he had brought Blade here hoping he would indulge him with a dance. Blade quietly sighed and took a hesitant step closer to Jester, who could barely contain his glee. Blade then glanced at Jester’s hand before looking down at his knife and hook, unsure of how to position his “hands” to make this work.

Jester giggled as he gently took hold of Blade’s wrists, placing the flat of the knife hand against his own back before resting his left hand on Blade’s arm. He then held up the hook arm by the wrist in a similar position as others would use when slow dancing. There, now they were ready.

Blade was rigid and didn’t seem to know how to even begin to move along with the music. Jester found it adorable. It reminded him of Blade’s first attempts at using his new wooden body all those years ago. He cooed softly at his partner and simply started swaying side to side. Blade slowly began to move along with Jester and gradually started to relax. They didn’t need to do anything complicated, this was enough.

Seeing Blade enjoy this oh-so-human activity made Jester sigh contentedly. It might’ve been silly to bring Blade here, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. He’d been worried he wouldn’t get the chance to see Blade truly unwind before they were forced to sleep again due to their dwindling supply of Andre’s formula.

That really was the biggest issue with Megan being their master, wasn't it? She kept refusing to make more of the formula, despite having Andre’s old notes and all the ingredients left behind by Neil’s experiments. It also didn’t help that Megan had wasted some to bring back a dead woman’s _stuffed dog_. She had excused herself by claiming that she needed to see for herself that the formula worked even though the puppets themselves were proof enough. They knew the truth: she didn’t trust them not to turn on her. She was simply _waiting_ for the formula to run out and would most likely destroy them the moment they were vulnerable. 

Honestly though, Jester wasn’t surprised by this turn of events. It was clear to see how uneasy she still was around them, though she tried hard to hide it. Understandable, especially considering what she’d seen them do to her guests only several months ago. Jester hasn’t shared these thoughts with the others, but he never felt the need to. The rest of his family were well aware of what Megan was doing and none of them were pleased. Jester knew what they will have to do, though he wished it didn’t have to be this way. Megan was not a monster, but if she kept insisting on not creating more of the formula then her fate would be sealed. It was selfish and awful, but after everything Neil had done the puppets knew they could only trust each other. Jester already had several ideas of how to solve their Megan problem and was only waiting for a chance to share them with Blade. Just because he wasn’t as violent as the others, it _did not_ mean he couldn’t be just as cruel.

However, at the moment, Jester had pushed those thoughts out of his head to enjoy the company of his dance partner. He hadn’t danced since the last time he preformed for Andre’s puppet show decades ago, and certainly not with a partner since he was still flesh and blood. This time with Blade was something that had to be savored and committed to memory. Feeling bold Jester nuzzled Blade’s cheek, wanting him to know how much he appreciated this. (Deep inside, Jester wished he could kiss Blade properly.) When he heard Blade’s quiet gasp at the action, Jester fought hard to keep his expression from changing. His affection still took Blade off guard even after _months_ of showering him with attention. There was a pang of hurt as Jester remembered why that was so. It had simply been too risky to do anything – _even when alone in the dark of their old trunk_ – while Neil was alive and pulling their strings. Before he could be pulled deeper down this trail of memories, Blade nuzzled Jester back. Jester sighed and felt himself ease into their dance once more.

Blade always did have a knack for bringing his mind back to the present.

They continued to dance long after the record stopped playing, so caught up in each other’s presence they were, until they heard Megan calling their names from down the hall. She never did like it when any of the puppets were out of her sight for too long. Jester’s face spun into his sad expression as he reluctantly let go of his partner. The curve of Blade’s hook then reached up and caressed Jester’s cheek. Jester leaned into the touch and his face spun back to his default expression once Blade pulled his hook away.

He never could frown for long when Blade was around.

Blade nodded to him once before leading the way out of the ballroom, with Jester following close behind. The voices of Megan and the others only became louder as they slipped back into the hallway. While he was disappointed it was over, Jester knew he would treasure this half-hour spent with Blade for years to come as he did all their fleeting moments together.

Though Jester fully intended to make sure that next time their time together wouldn’t be cut short again.

* * *

A lengthy police investigation was held at the Bodega Bay Inn following the gruesome murder of its owner, Megan Gallagher. The woman's brain had been extracted through her nose with a hook, and according to the coroner, she had been alive as it happened. People had been horrified when the details of her death became widely known and the rumors surrounding the hotel only worsened as a result.

Once the case turned cold due to a lack of evidence, it was then time to settle the estate. Unfortunately Mrs. Gallagher had been an only child, with her parents gone, and even her husband had committed suicide less than a year before her own death. The state was forced to locate any distant relatives of hers to either take ownership of the hotel or sell it for profit. All the while the hotel and its remaining small occupants were left undisturbed.

_At least, until a group from the Paranormal Research Division insisted on investigating the property…_

**Author's Note:**

> The full song line that the title comes from is, "Dance with me until I feel alright."


End file.
